Was 57-year-old Shawn Kilums arrested in Florida for tranquilizing and raping alligators in the Everglades? No, that's not true, the story was made up by a "fauxtire" site that invents tales of bizarre crimes and sex acts purely for entertainment purposes and then makes money through advertising. The story did not happen for real.
The story originated from an article published by Huzlers on July 17, 2018 titled "Florida Man Arrested For Tranquilizing And Raping Alligators In Everglades" (archived here) which opened:
FLORIDA - A Florida man has been arrested after authorities report he was tranquilizing alligators in the everglades and then raping them.
57 year old Shawn Kilums was found by Florida authorities in the act of engaging in sexual intercourse with a tranquilized alligator Sunday afternoon. Authorities say they tazed Shawn as he was not following police orders, police say Shawn was also high on crystal meth.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail and many mistook it for a real news report, despite the telling "Florida Man" in the headline:
Florida Man Arrested For Tranquilizing And Raping Alligators In Everglades
FLORIDA - A Florida man has been arrested after authorities report he was tranquilizing alligators in the everglades and then raping them. 57 year old Shawn Kilums was found by Florida authorities in the act of engaging in sexual intercourse with a...
The man pictured with the story is apparently named Robert Prosser from Ohio and we found his mugshot in this 2010 gallery where it is claimed he was arrested for growing marijuana and posession of a firearm:
Outrageous mugshots
Ohio man Robert Prosser, 49, was arrested in July 2010 for allegedly growing marijuana at his home, which was located near a school, according to CBS affiliate WKRC. Prosser was also allegedly in possession...
Huzlers styles itself as a "fauxtire" website and carries a disclaimer at the bottom of each page:
Huzlers.com is the most infamous fauxtire & satire entertainment website in the world. If it's trending on social media you'll find it here!
According to Splinter News the site is run by Pablo Reyes and David Martinez and according to Buzzfeed Reyes is involved with several other fake news websites. They tend to shy away from political stories, opting instead to write for a more "urban" audience, with stories about rappers, criminals and celebrities.
We wrote about huzlers.com before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: McDonald's Manager Did NOT Shoot Man For Putting Soda In His Free Water Cup
- Fake News: White Woman Did NOT Call Cops On Innocent Man Selling Crack Cocaine Outside Her Apartment
- Fake News: NO Alabama Man In Custody After Promising Kids V-Bucks, Did NOT Sexually Abuse Them
- Fake News: Germany NOT Discussing Nuking South Korea After Being Eliminated From FIFA World Cup
- NOT Fake News: Shooting Suspect Actualy Arrested In Death Of XXXTentacion
